Some years ago!

For all Morris J type Vans, Morris JB vans and (BMC 50's vehicles)Torque! e-mail fiftiesvehicles@mail.com.
The copyright of any photograph on this blog-site will remain with its owner. No infringement intended.

Saturday, 31 March 2012

For sale on e-bay, the second oldest J type in the UK, (13th oldest in the world) Chassis J/R 6733. The seller states a 1950 van, DVLA have this down as a 1951 van with the registration number issued in London. Needs a bit of work but not too much. This is a rare Martin Walter mini bus conversion, even rarer now as the last one on e-bay which was complete with all the original fittings was turned into a catering van. 80% of the original van was thrown away, the good roof panel, rear doors and sides went in the scrap bin. Is this one destined for the same fate? With all the skill that went into the last conversion, could they not fabricate a new front end and graft it onto a modern van chassis.

Sunday, 25 March 2012

BC Ferries workers went into full hazardous goods inspection mode when Charlie Grahn tried to move his newly purchased 1950 Morris J-type van from Victoria to his Vancouver home.

The van had been sitting in a backyard for at least 30 years before the 2008 purchase and pieces were falling off the derelict vehicle as Grahn dragged it into the Swartz Bay ferry terminal on the rented trailer. The rare but rough British-built van was in the worst condition imaginable. So why would an admitted "non-car guy" pay $500 for such a project?
Grahn was attracted to the rounded features of the van, which is best known for delivering the Royal Mail and milk for the British in the 1950s, and modern-day relief for allergy sufferers here in Canada with a restored van used to promote Reactine allergy medicine. The rusty shell of the Reactine Morris J-type van was restored by the Ajax, Ont.-based company after being rescued from a scrapyard in Mexico.

"I had 'restore vehicle' on my bucket list for 30 years before I started this project," Grahn reflects.

"I liked this vehicle because it was so idiosyncratic. They built a vehicle for export designed for hauling parcels around Lon-don. It lacked customer focus. It foreshadowed the end of the empire."

Morris Motors Company introduced its commercial J-type van in 1949 with 48,000 produced up to 1961. The vans built in the first four years were earmarked for export. When those markets largely failed, the Morris J-type vans found their greatest use in Britain, mainly as Royal Mail vans and telephone "planner's" vehicles. They were also popularly converted into ice cream vans.

Mick Jagger tried to buy a restored ice cream vendor with a $140,000 offer two years ago. He was turned down by the owner who restored the vehicle after discovering it being used as a chicken shed on a farm.

The Nuffield factory that built the J-type vans became an amalgamation between Morris and Austin in 1952 with the mission statement: Export or Die. British wartime aircraft production had switched to domestic and commercial vehicles and the money earned through exports kept factories humming.

The half-ton van featured for-ward controls, sliding pocket doors on each side and had both left-and right-hand drive models. It is not known how many "knocked down" left-hand drive J-types were exported to Canada, but only four are known to have survived, including the rusty hulk rescued by Grahn.

His vehicle may have been sold by Vancouver's Oxford Motors, which was originally at 650 Burrard St., or possibly by Morris Car Sales in Victoria at 779 Pandora St. The little trucks weren't entirely suitable for harsh Canadian winters because they had no heater and the 70-horsepower Morris Oxford 1476cc, 4-cylinder engine wasn't very peppy.

Grahn began his J-type resurrection by peeling off layers of paint as a form of automotive archeology in an attempt to discover the history of his 1950 Morris commercial van. Black, maroon, beige and original British Racing Green is what he discovered. His van had gone through at least two owners before 1982, when satellite photographs first show the van parked in the backyard of a Victoria home, where it remained until Grahn purchased it.
An early owner installed three extra windows on each side of the van, and possibly camper-ized the little van with artfully installed mahogany interior panelling. Another owner "hot-rodded" the van with the installation of a Toyota R16 truck engine, Road Hugger tires and black paint with silver accents and yellow doors.

"I discovered the van had a badly bent tie rod, which would have drastically affected the steering, so that may have been why the owner stopped driving it," Grahn speculates.
The Simon Fraser University history graduate, who now works in contract procurement, spent hundreds of hours looking through vehicle photo-graphs at the Vancouver Public Library and the city archives in a vain attempt to trace the history of his rare van.

He also researched restoration shops, and chose the "metal meisters" at Eye Candy Kus-toms in Delta. Aaron Wilson and his team have now fabricated most of the body. Missing rear doors were found in Brit-ain after being salvaged from a van in Gibraltar. A J-type owner in Australia loaned the eight distinct rear door hinges so Grahn could have a set cast at a local foundry.

Grahn's research determined the missing steel wheels were the same as a 1950s MG-TD, which are readily available. He is still missing the pocket doors and driver's seat, but believes he will find them.
"Everything else has turned up," he says optimistically. "The Internet has made the world smaller. There are about 10 J-type van guys in the world who help people like me and they have helped a lot."

The only departure from absolute originality is replacing the Morris Oxford 4-cylinder side valve engine with a Nissan A series power plant coupled to an automatic transmission. "The engine design is based on the original Austin overhead valve engine of the 1950s and parts are readily available," Grahn explains.

When asked when he expects to complete his restoration, Grahn deadpans: "Christmas, 2010." He definitely doesn't want to discuss how much the restoration has cost. "I have way overextended myself, but I haven't had to lie to my wife ... yet," he says.

"What's positive about the experience is that I've met great guys, I've developed a higher level of respect for people who work with sheet metal as well as machinists and painters and I know how meaningful it is to understand every nut and bolt in a ride. Finally, I have accumulated great knowledge and the resolve to try less ambitious projects in the future."

Apart from the Reactine van and Grahn's restoration project, the only other Morris J-type van in the area belongs to Steve Diggins in Burnaby. It also came from Vancouver Island and is in "rough but restorable" condition. It is the oldest known left-hand-drive export model.
That Morris van was bought new in Victoria by a Duncan company called Duncan Transfer to deliver groceries. The son of the original owner, now 80 years old, was the first driver of this Morris J-type and was emotional when he discovered the van still exists.

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

I like this J type, this will shock people who know me. Why do I like it? Well a very rusty "flat-packed" J van is living again. That has got to be good news. It also appears to have the rear wheels in the centre of the rear wheel arches.
Talking about e-bay, It looks like the ex-ice cream van that sold recently has gone to be re-bodied and will turn up on the South Bank of the Thames selling ice cream- fish and chips- or Burgers shortly to the tourists. No bad thing, an ex-working van being used again to trade, it will raise the profile of the J van still further and might start the restoration of other "project" vans that are out there. It amazes me that there are people sitting with "project" J type vans in their garages and they don't want to get them restored and on the road. Come on chaps, get that J type out, summer is around the corner, the clock's alter this weekend so an extra hour of day light, please put it to good use.
Get it on the road and take it to Gaydon in June for the J type gathering, prime position for our vans right at the front of the museum, contact the J register for details.

Thursday, 15 March 2012

Sometimes I post item here and get NO response like the request for 15 and 16 inch wheel rims to help out other J owners. Other times I get lots of what I can only describe as criticism. In this case my last posting has produced a prompt reply and has identified the Austin 101's location.

'My guess would be Thailand. The registration plates look like Hong Kong ones where at least part of the movie is set.
From the movies website “Shooting of the film has occurred since the beginning of August till the end of December 2010 in Moscow, Hong Kong, Thailand and Norway. 70% of material was shot in Asia – it is a unique experience for Russian cinematography.”
Cheers

Sunday, 4 March 2012

I just had to take it apart. In the end both carburettors removed. Main problem, front carburettor flooding due in the main to a bent float fork. These units will need a few small parts and some gaskets but are in very good condition for 60 year old H2 carbs.

Saturday, 3 March 2012

Two different e-mails from two different J owners, same subject, arrived on the same day into the inbox. spooky or what.
First e-mail.Wanted a pair of 15 inch wheel rims, in any condition, with or without tyres.

The second e-mail, Wanted, any quantity of 16 inch J type wheels, willing to pay up to £50 each.
If you can help out either of these j type owners with maybe an old rim lurking in the back of the garage, Contact me and I will pass on your e-mail/contact details. Both e-mailers have said "they will collect" so no hassle with packing items up.
Very little vehicle news, The Wolseley 6/80 ventured out the other night to go the local club meet at a village pub. No problems encountered apart from it seems to drink petrol like its leaking.
I knew it was running "rich" but according to fellow owners they get around 20 MPG and slightly better on a run.
Well we don't plan to do many miles in it. The insurance cover is for 1500 miles a year which will be more than enough to do a few local club rallies. Still I must venture into the unknown and tackle the adjustment of the twin SU carburettors with electric choke, this is going to be fun.

A picture of two black cars, on a black winters night in a pub car park. Old RiSKy looks good at night, no rust to be seen.